Second Time's the...Charm?

Adjectives to describe me as a writer: creative, hard-working, focused, happy, neurotic. Yes, I'm neurotic. A bit crazy at times when it comes to second-guessing character motivations, reader desires, and a book's chance of success. Hence this post about Kate Undone, the recent source of my unease.

I've had the ideas for parallel worlds and Cross Step, Kansas in my head for years. Huge files full of characters, races and ideas for stories, some set in the future from when Namesake takes place. In fact, my Voiders folder has been transferred twice as I've upgraded computers over the years. When I finally decided to write Namesake, I loved the premise: Voids (wormholes) suddenly appear on earth in certain spots, and through them come Voiders, humanoids from alternate worlds. One type of Voider are the Ravagers, who equate to what we know as werewolves. Sexy werewolves. Bring on the romance.

I wasn't so sure about the heavy sensuality of the story. But it seemed a good fit for Ellora's Cave. One heroine, four heroes who later become two, then bump back up to three. Yeah, multiple heroes. But the story makes sense in the context of the Ravager family unit. One female to several males (3-6) make a pack. In Namesake, Vicki Fox claims the prime, his guard and one other.

Two of the initial heroes, who help make Vicki pack, drop out. They had their own female to claim, as well as each other. Perfect. I'd write the next story for Jesse, Logan, and Kate. Three Ravagers with some emotional issues to clear up before they can have their own happily ever after. An overarching plot of human watch groups, a crime lord with a hidden agenda, and Ravager politics round out the story.

I needed to be sure this story would stand up after Namesake's initial success. But so far, I have no friggin' clue how it's doing. I had one reader comment she liked it (thank you, Carrie Ann!) The ball in my chest eased. And then...nothing. No comments, no ratings, no nothing. I suppose no news is better than bad news, but I can't stop wondering about reader reaction.

Like I don't have other things I should be doing--wrapping up my current WIP before my mom comes next week, cleaning the house, decorating the house, starting my Christmas shopping... ACK! I can only hope Kate Undone does well enough that EC will accept my next novel about the mysterious crime boss in Cross Step--Mr. Tommy Chen. Chen is different than anyone else on the planet. No pack or clan, no family or relatives. He's the sole survivor of his people...or so he thinks.

Cross your fingers, and hope that his story will one day see the light of day. And that I can get my head out of my butt long enough to write it!

Have a nice weekend, and may the rest of your Friday be much less neurotic than mine.